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“It will be wonderful and I hope it’s not something where all the euphoria is before the game, I hope we have it through and after the game. I’m really looking forward to being at home and sampling it.”

And the 45 year-old Welshman is a self-confessed romantic when it comes to the FA Cup after experiencing both sides of the giantkilling divide.

“It’s the biggest cup competition in terms of domestic football. I grew up in an era when it was probably the only televised game and you were always watching the build up, cameras on the bus leaving the hotel, all that kind of thing.

“I’ve been on the end of a relative giantkilling, and also giant killed myself, and there’s a lot of romance about it.

Nathan Jones... thumbs up for home debut (Image: EMPICS)

“At Brighton we got beaten by Newport, a difficult game a while ago.

“Then at Luton we beat Aston Villa after they’d just come down from the Premier League.

“The romance of a cup competition tends to lift certain players and we have to make sure it lifts our so we are the best version of ourselves, one we hope will win us the game.”

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“As long as we keep improving, then we will get to where we want to be safely, without any trapdoors.”

Having inherited a mix of young, experienced and older players, the Stoke manager says: “With younger ones you can mould them slightly because they are less set in their ways, but no-one is too old to learn and they want to buy into it.

“Obviously, there’s some big characters here, strong characters, experienced ones, a Champions League winner, so there’s some real good characters and players.

“It’s about finding a blend and making them all feel a part of it because you can only pick 11.”